Lever-operated electric switching device



Feb. 1,9, 1946.

J. A. cHlLMAN 2,395,036 LEVEH-OPERATED ELECTRIC swITcHING DEVIE Filed March 8 1943 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 J. A. CHILMAN LEVER-OPERATED ELECTRIC SWITCHING DEVICE Feb. 19, 1946.

4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed March 8 1945 my f Feb. 19, 1946. J, A, cHlLMAN i 2,395,036

LEVER-CPERATED ELECTRIC swITCHINC DEVICE Filed March 8, 1945 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 l l/EF l r1 CM1 "ll [j I am. "lh vI 5L i '534ml I" Ih [Ill/56 J; fgk will H9 Il JT J /ff H f. 61 l idw I 6 M, A W JV /W' Y u 9% H @j $565? 53 F m If 55 g55/H Z7 65 fj) i296. jzg

7 0,5 i vl( mamy Feb. 19, 1946. L A. cHlLMAN 4 2,395,036

' LEVER-OPERATED ELECTRIC SWITCHING DEVICEI Fild March 8, 194s 4 sheets-sheet 4 Patented Feb. 19, 1946 LEVER-OPERATED ELECTRIC SWITCHING DEVICE John Alfred Chilman, Gloucester, England, as-

signor to Rotol Limited, a British company Application March 8, 1943, Serial No. 478,415 In Great Britain December 18, 1941 (Cl. G-5) 4 Claims.

This invention is concerned with electric switching devices of the type comprising a movable contact-element mounted on, or constituted by, a pivoted lever spring-pressed to move in one direction (usually to its 01T position), an actuating-lever separately pivoted and movable to engage and rock the contact-lever against the action of its control-spring into a position in which the actuating-lever locks the contact-lever against return movement under the action of the control-spring. Such switches are ordinarily made so that, and intended to be used in such a manner that, the actuating-lever is moved lto the full extent of its movement so that it locks the contact-lever to its locked position.

An object of the invention is to provide a construction by which the switch-device can be readily changed from the permanently-operated type of switch to the momentary type, in which the contact is maintained only so long as the lever is pressed, and also toprovide certain other improvements for increasing the utility of such a switchdevice.

This invention, accordingly, comprises a switch of the type above-described, wherein the portion of the contact-lever engaged by the actuatinglever is s0 shaped or disposed that locking of the contact-lever takes place only after a predetermined movement of the actuating-lever, and that full engaging electrical contact is effected before this position is reached, and wherein interchangeable means are provided for determining the range of movement of the actuating-lever. This said interchangeable means may constitute cover-plates secured over the switch and slotted to permit the actuating-lever to project through the slot for its actuation, the length of the slot being selected according to the range of movement of the lever which it is desired to have.

According to another feature of this invention, a switch as abo-ve-described may be provided with a contact-lever having two separate contactors co-operating with different iixed contacts, and an actuating-lever arranged to move it in one or other direction to engage one or other set of contacts according to the direction of movement of the actuating-lever.

Alternatively, a switch as above-described may comprise two separate contact-levers and a single actuating-lever arranged to move one or other of the contact-levers according to its direction of movement. Preferably, the contact-levers in this case are mounted to swing about a pivotal axis common to both of them but lying on opposite range of movement of the actuating-lever in its two directions need not necessarily be the same.

According to another feature of this invention, the actuating-lever may itself be operated by a sepa-rate actuating-handle, and the predetermining of the range of movement is applied to the actuating-handle. This construction is particularly adapted for use with ganged switches.

According to another feature of this invention, a ganged switch may comprise a, plurality of switches as above-described assembled side by side ,with their actuating-levers mounted on yco-axial sleeves, in combination with a single actuatinghandle movable axially to engage selectively any one of the said sleeves to rock it.

In the accompanying drawings:

Figure 1 is a sectional elevation showing the operative parts oi a switch according to this invention in the off position,

Figure 2 is a similar view showing the switch in its momentary on position,

Figure 3 is a similar view showing the switch modified to permit it to be set in a permanently on position, s

Figure 4 is a similar view showing a duplex form of the switch illustrated in Figure 1, adapted to control two separate circuits,

Figure 5 is a sectional view of a switch as illustrated in Figure 4 showing it mounted in a standard form of switch casing,

Figure 6 is a sectional view on the line 6--6 of Figure 5,

' Figure 7 is an elevation, partly in section, of two switches ganged together and operated by a single actuating-handle, n

Figure 8 is a sectional view on the line 8-8 of Figure 7,

Figure.9 is a view on the line 9 9 of Figure '7,

Figure 10 is a sectional view of a detail, and

Figure 11 is a View similar to Figure l, showing a modiiied construction of switch.

Referring rst to Figures 1 and 2 which illustrate the simplest form of switch in accordance with this invention, a contact-lever indicated generally by t-he reference I0 is mounted to swing on a pivot pin II and comprises three arms I2, I3, I4. The arm I4 carries a contactor I5 mounted on it by means of an insulator I6, this contactor ybeing adapted to engage a co-operating contact I1. Preferably, the contactor I5 is U-shaped and each of its limbs is adapted to engage one of a pair of contacts I1 so as electrically to couple them together .to complete a circuit, this arrangement providing that the contactsides thereof, and it will be appreciated that the lever I0 ,and its pivotal mounting are not ineluded in the electrical circuit controlled by the switch Conveniently, the lever I is itself of U-shaped formation, constituted by two plates which are of the shape represented by III in Figure l, connected by a fiat base portion which carries the insulator :G and the contact I5. The pivot pin Il extends through the two arms of the lever ill and an actuating-lever I8 lies between the two arms and carries rollers I9 to engage each of them to operate it. A controlling spring 2B of any convenient form is provided to press the lever I9 towards its off position illustrated in Figure l.

The two arms I2 and I3 of the lever I0 are inclined to one another at about a right angle, and the rollers IU aforesaid lie between them. The arm I3 which is used to move the switch to its on position is so shaped at 2l as to lie closely beside the rollers I9 in the off position of the switch so that when the actuating-lever i8 is moved towards the right in Figure 1, it sweeps along the part 2l as shown in Figure 2 to bring the contactor I5 into full electrical engagement with its co-operating contacts I1, but in this position the spring 2E] would still be operative to return the switch to its off position when the actuating-lever is released, thus constituting a momentary switch by which is meant as above described, a switch in which the circuit is maintained closed only so long as the actuating-lever I8 is manually held in the position shown in Figure 2.

rlhe arm I3 of the lever I0 is further shaped l at 22 so that ir the actuating-lever I8 be moved somewhat further, to the position illustrated in Figure 3, the surface 22 engages the rollers I9 so as to lock the switch in its on position. The shaping of the surfaces 2l, 22 to effect the abovedescribed functions consists in inclining them towards one another so that the pressure exerted between the surface 2| and the roller I9 has a component tangential to the line of movement of the rollers IS, whilst the surface 22 is substantially normal to that line of movement.

In this simple form of the switch, the actuating-handle 23 may be formed integrally with the actuating-lever I8, and it projects through a cover-plate 24 which is slotted to permit its movement. As shown in Figures 1 and 2 the slot 25 is of such a length that the handle 23 cannot move further than the position illustrated in Figure 2, so that the switch can be operated only as a momentary switch, since the rollers I9 cannot be moved into engagement with the surface 22 of the lever I3. AIf it is desired to convert the switch to one which can be permanently operated, the cover-plate 24 is replaced by a similar cover-plate 26 as shown in Figure 3 in which the slot 21 is of greater length, permitting the further movement of the actuating-lever I8. It will be seen, therefore, that in order to provide the two varieties of switch, namely momentary or permanent, it is merely necessary to provide the alternative cover-plates 24, 26, as all the other parts of the switch are identical.

The arm I2 of the lever is provided with a surface 28 which is so positioned as to be engaged by the rollers I3 when the actuatinglever I8 is moved from the position shown in Figure 3 towards its off position which is shown in Figure l. Ordinarily it will not come into engagement with it, since the spring 20 will move the contact-lever i8 away from its engaging position as soon as it is released, but the surface 28 provides for the positive disengagement of the switch if it should be held frictionally by the contacts I1 against the action of the spring 20.

Figure 4 illustrates a duplex form of the switch illustrated in Figure l, in which two contact-levers 29, 3D are mounted on a common pivot pin 3l. Each of these levers is similar to the lever I0 illustrated in Figure l, but they are arranged rightand left-handedly respectively, so that their contacts 32, 33 engage the contacts 34, 35 respectively when they are moved by the actuating-lever I8. The controlling spring 20 in this case operates on both levers, each one serving as an abutment when the other is moved. The actuation of each of the levers is effected by surfaces similar to the surfaces 2i, 22 ofFigure 1, and the surface corresponding to the surface 28 of Figure 3 is so positioned that when the actuating-lever i8 is moved in one direction, for example as shown in Figure 4 to close the contacts 32, 34, the lever 33 is not operated. There is thereby provided a switch with a single actuatinghandle 23 which when moved in one direction from its off position (see Figure 4), closes the contacts 32, 34 and when moved in the other direction closes the contacts 33, 35, at the same time opening the contacts 32, 34. The range of movement of the actuating-handle 23 is determined by the length of the slot 38 in the coverplate 31, and it will be appreciated that its length in either direction from the central position may be such as to make either of the switches 32, 33 a momentary switch or a permanent switch. As before, all the operative parts of the switch for either type are identical with one another and it is only necessary to change the cover-plate to obtain any desired combination of switches.

Figures 5 and 6 show a switch of the kind illustrated in Figure 4 mounted in a standard form of casing 38. A U-shaped member 39 secured by a bolt or stud 4G carries the pivot pin 4I for the contact-levers 42, 43 which are U-shaped and interleaved with one another; they each carry the contactors 44, 45 on insulators 46, 41 respectively, and the contactors are arranged to complete the circuit between the contacts 48, 49 and 50, 5I respectively, these contacts preferably taking the conventional form of spring jaws. The pivot pin 4I is retained in place by the side walls of the casing 38 when it and the contact-levers assembled on it have been inserted in the casing. The casing also comprises a cover-piece 52 to enclose the terminal connections for the contacts, and a separate base portion 53 which carries the actuating-lever 54 and actuating-handle 55; these three portions of the casing are secured together by suitable bolts and the interchangeable cover-plate 56 or escutcheon with the slot 51 to determine the range of movement of the actuating-handle 55 is secured on the casing 53. Figures '1 and 8 illustrate a construction of ganged switch in which two switches such as are illustrated in Figures 4, 5 and 6 are assembled together and controlled by a single operatinghandle. The two switches are mounted in separate casings 58, 59 similar to the casing 33 with all the parts carried thereby, but a separate base portion of the casing is provided to receive the two casings 58, 59. Within this base 6D there i-s secured a pivot pin 6I upon which there is slid.. ably mounted a sleeve 62 and preferably a controlling spring 63 normally presses the sleeve 62 towards one end of the casing, this spring taking its abutment on a suitable washer G4. The sleeve 62 carries an actuating-handle 65, and surrounding the sleeve are two actuating-leversleeves `lili, 61 which carry respectively the actuating levers 68, 59 for the two switches. These two sleeves 66, 61 abut one another endwise and Upon the bottom of the complete switch Lcasn ing there is mounted a cover-plate or escutcheon 12 which is` illustrated separately in Figure 9. and this Ais appropriately slotted to accommodate the movement of the actuating-handle V65. The slot is in the form of a gate which permits the handle G to be moved to either of the positions 13, 14 to operate one switch, for example that in the casing 59, or alternatively it may be moved to the right of Figure 9 and then moved to either of the positions 15, to operate the switches in the casing 58 of Figure '7.

In some cases there may be one or more movements of the switch-handle Iwhich are not ordi narily required, and in order to provide a safeguard against the switch being accidentally moved to that position, a construction of aotuating-handle illustrated in Figure 10 may be used. The sleeve 62 carries an arm 11 rigidly secured on it with an operating handle 1S telescopically mounted on the arm 11 and normally pressed radially inwards by a spring 19. The gate in the cover-plate normally engages the sleeve portion of the operating handle, and'the slots 13y 15, 1G are made of a suitable width. The slot 14, however, is made narrower of such dimensions as to accommodate only the arm 11 so that the operating handle can be moved to enter the slot 14 only by withdrawing the handle 18 against the action of the spring 1S. The deliberate action thus called for prevents accidental movement of the actuating-handle into the slot 14, such as might occur when moving the handle from the slot 13 to its off position.

Figure 11 illustrates a modified form of switch which is shown in its simplest form corresponding to the construction illustrated in Figure l. In this modiication the contact-lever 88 carries an insulated contactor 8l corresponding to the contacter l5 of Figure 1, and is provided with similar cam surfaces 82, 83 on the arm 84 to be operated by the actuating-lever 85, and the modiiication consists in the provision on the arm 86 of the lever 28 of a contacter 81 to engage a co` operating contaotor 88.

The contact-lever 88 is so shaped that when the contactor 8| is in its off position, the contacto!` 81 is in engagement with its co-operating contacts 88 so that one or other of the circuits controlled by the switch is always closed, there being no intermediate position in which both circuits are open. For this purpose the actuatinghandle 89 is movable only in one direction in the slot 98, and the length of this slot is selected as hereinbefore described, to provide that the contactor 8| operates either as a momentary switch or as a permanent switch.

In Figure 11 there is shown only one contactor switch 88, but it will be appreciated that the various modifications illustrated in Figure 4 or Figures 5 and 6, or Figures 7 and 8 may all have embodied in them contact-levers similar to that of Figure k1,-1 carrying two separate contacter elements.

It will be understood that the operating-handle is controlled as to its range of movement by the lengthsof the Aslots in the cover-plate 12, in the manner `above described; as shown in Figure 9, the slots 13, 14 permit that particular switch to be moved .so that either of its contactors goes tothe permanently on position, whilst the slots 1,5 and 15 are shorter so that the other switch is, as regards both of its contactors, a momentary switch- Any desired selection of the length of the various slots may be used according to the requirements of any particular case, The construction of switch illustrated in Figure '7 can be used to `control four separate circuitsl but the invention is not necessarily limited thereto, since the gate inthe cover-plate 12 can be extended to provide any desired number of operating switches for one actuating-handle, it being only necessary to provide suitable axially-disposed slots in the actuating-lever-sleeves to accommodate the axial movement of the handle.

I claim:

1. A switch comprising a basey a contact on the base, a lever carrying a contact to engage the base contact and pivoted on the base to rock between a position in which the contacts are engaged and one in which they are disengaged,

a spring bi-asing the contact-carrying leverto rock in one direction, an actuating lever pivoted on the base and operable by a movement in one direction about its pivot to rock the contactcarrying lever against the bias of the spring from one position to the other and thereafter by a further movement in the s-ame direction to lock the contact-carrying lever in the latter position, and two alternative gates for the actuating lever, one of which permits it to make its fullmovement and the other of which permits it to move suiciently to rock the contact-carrying lever from one position to the other but not to lock that lever.

2. A switch comprising a base, a contact iixed on the base, a lever carrying a contact to engage the fixed contact and pivoted on the base to rock between a position in which the contacts are engaged and one in which they are disengaged, a spring biasing the contact-carrying lever to rock in one direction, an actuating lever pivoted on `the base and operable by a movement in one direction about its pivot to rock the contactcarrying lever against the bias of the spring `from one position to the other and thereafter by a further movement in the same direction to lock the contact-carrying lever in the latter position, and two cover plates to be secured to the base alternatively and formed with slots of different length to receive the actuating lever and limit its movement, the slot in one cover being of such length that the lever can move through its full stroke while that in the other cover being of such length as to prevent the lever reaching its locking position.

3. The combination with two switches each comprising a base, a contact xed on the base, a lever carrying a cont-act to engage the fixed contact and pivoted on the base to rock between a position in which the contacts are engaged and one in which they are disengaged, a spring biasing the contact-carrying lever to rock in one direction, an actuating lever pivoted on the base and operable by a movement in one direction about its pivot to-rock the contact-carrying lever against the bias of the spring from one position to the other and thereafter by a further movement in the same direction to lock the contactcarrying lever in the latter position, of a common actuating handle pivoted about a common pivotal axis of the actuating levers of both switches, movable along said axis to engage one or the other actuating levers to operate it when rocked about said axis, and a gate cooperating with the actuating handle to prevent it rocking except when engaged with one only of the actuating levers and to permit it to rock the actuating lever of one switch to its full extent and to restrict its rocking movement when engaged with the actuating lever of the other switch to the extent just short of the movement required to lock the contact-carrying lever in that switch.

4. The combination with two switches each comprising a base, two contacts xed on the base, two levers pivoted on the base and each carrying a contact to engage a different one of the fixed contacts, spring means biasing both said levers to disengage the contacts, a common actuating lever pivoted on the base to engage one or the other contact-carrying levers depending on the direction in which it is rocked and arranged to rock the lever it engages into its engaged position and then to lock it in that position by a further movement in the same direction, said two switches mounted side by side with the pivots of their actuating levers co-axial, a common actuating handle pivoted about the common pivot of the levers and movable therealong to engage one or the other of them, and a gate having an H-shaped slot through which the actuating handle extends, the branches of which slot are of different lengths, the longer branches permitting the actuating handle to close, and to lock closed, the related cont-act pair and the shorter branches permitting the actuating handle to close, but not to lock closed, the related contact pair,

JOHN ALFRED CHIIMAN. 

